Around the minors 4.10.11

BUFFALO 2, PAWTUCKET 1: The Bisons took the second game of the series against Pawtucket on the strength of team pitching and timely double plays. After Boof Bonser left the game in the fourth inning due to a possible forearm strain, Bisons relief pitching picked up where he left off. The relief staff shut Pawtucket out for the next six innings with solid work from Jose De La Torre, Mike O'Connor and Manny Alvarez. Ryota Igarashi pitched one and a third innings for his first save of the season. Igarashi retired the side in the ninth with ease, striking out Ryan Kalish, getting Daniel Nava to ground out and striking out Lars Anderson looking. Igarashi, who is making $1.75 million in the second season of a two-year deal, later was promoted to the Mets, along with Jason Isringhausen. Lucas Duda was optioned to Buffalo and Blaine Boyer was designated for assignment. "I'll tell you what, those guys have done a great job out there in the bullpen -- and they’re pitching often, and they’re doing a tremendous job holding down the fort," manager Tim Teufel said. De La Torre came in midway through Pawtucket infielder Nate Spears’ at-bat, after Bonser left the game. De La Torre got Spears to fly out to center field to end the inning. De La Torre faced five batters striking out three. "Today De La Torre did a great Job," Teufel said. "The bullpen has done a tremendous job and especially today, they really stepped up today." The Bisons never trailed in the game, scoring a run in the first inning off of a Justin Turner triple and an RBI single by Nick Evans. “We’ve got a lot of good hitters in the lineup and I think it's just a matter of time before they start really swinging the bat," Teufel said. Pawtucket tied the score at 1 in the fourth inning when Yamaico Navarro hit a double into left field and was singled home by J.C. Linares. The Bisons came right back in the bottom of the fourth. Ruben Tejada walked and stole second, his second stolen base of the year. Pawtucket starter Andrew Miller walked two more batters loading the bases. A passed ball from Rich Hill allowed Tejada to score from third, giving the Bisons back the lead. "We're playing good defense and fundamentally sound baseball, so from that point and having good pitching out of the bullpen, as a manager you can't ask for much more," Teufel said. The Bisons turned their first double play of the season, and their first strikeout-’em-out, throw-’em-out double play. Opponents are 1-for-5 when attempting to steal bases. Catcher Raul Chavez threw out two runners. Kirk Nieuwenhuis walked three times but did not score. Box

AKRON 1, BINGHAMTON 0: A pair of Binghamton errors in the fourth inning broke a scoreless deadlock and a trio of Akron pitchers made the run stand up to secure a split in the series at Canal Park Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Robert Carson started for the B-Mets and pitched five strong innings, allowing an unearned run on six hits. Akron (2-2) struck for its run with one out in the fourth. Chun Chen singled to center and was joined on base by Matt McBride, who also singled. With two on and one out, John Drennen hit a hard groundball to first baseman Allan Dykstra. Dykstra fielded it cleanly, but his throw to second was off the mark trying to get McBride. The ball trickled into left field, which allowed Chen to score. Raul Reyes attempted to throw out Chen at the plate but threw the ball to the backstop, which allowed the runners to move to second and third. Carson would strand them there. The error was Dykstra’s second of the series. Austin Adams was dominant in his first Double-A start. The Akron righty faced three over the minimum in six innings, limiting the B-Mets to two hits and a walk. He was credited with the win. Binghamton’s best scoring chance came in the eighth when Carlos Guzman singled off reliever Nick Hagadone to leadoff the frame. Jon Malo followed and bunted the runner up. Kai Gronauer advanced the runner to third with a deep flyout to right. However, Guzman would be stranded when Hagadone got Lorenzo Scott to ground out to second to end the inning. Cory Burns struck out the side in order in the ninth to nail down his second save. Chris Schwinden and Eric Niesen pitched well in relief for Binghamton. Schwinden followed Carson and worked two scoreless innings. Niesen retired the side in order in the eighth. Binghamton’s season-opening road trip continues Monday at 6:35 when the B-Mets open a three-game set at Jerry Uht Park against the Erie SeaWolves. Binghamton has yet to name its starter. Erie will send right-hander Mark Sorenson (0-0) to the mound. Box

ST. LUCIE 2, PALM BEACH 1: Catcher Dusty Ryan, who was unable to break camp with Buffalo because of a head injury, walked three times and drove in Jefry Marte and Travis Ozga with a single in the eighth as St. Lucie rallied for the victory. Nick Carr became the winner with two scoreless relief innings. Jeffrey Kaplan picked up his third save. Box

WEST VIRGINIA 9, SAVANNAH 1
WEST VIRGINIA 2, SAVANNAH 0: The West Virginia Power swept a doubleheader from the Savannah Sand Gnats Sunday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park. The Gnats (1-2) now head to Hickory, N.C., for a four-game series against the Hickory Crawdads before coming home for Opening Night 2011 on April 15 at Historic Grayson Stadium. The West Virginia Power (2-1) broke a 1-1 tie in Game 1 with a seven-run fourth inning to take a commanding 8-1 lead. With a runner on first, the second batter of the inning, third baseman Eric Avila, lined a shot off the arm of Savannah starter Ryan Fraser, who was forced to leave the game. Six of the next eight batters reached base safely against reliever Guillaume Leduc. With two hits in the opener, Gnats first baseman Sam Honeck finished the opening series 5-for-10 with a double and two RBIs. The Gnats scored their only run of the day in the second inning of Game 1, which at the time tied the score at 1. With one out, right fielder Javier Rodriguez doubled to center. Catcher Blake Forsythe then doubled to left field to bring home Rodriguez. Forsythe, the Mets third-round pick in 2010 out of Tennessee, was 2-for-3 with a double in the game. Game 2 was a pitchers’ duel, with Savannah starter Yohan Almonte trading zeroes with West Virginia starter Zach Dodson through four innings. However, the Power broke through for two runs in the bottom of the fifth against Almonte. The Power’s Avila and right fielder Dan Grovatt singled to start the inning. Almonte then committed a balk to move Avila to third and Grovatt to second. Avila then came home on a wild pitch. Grovatt scored on an RBI single from Kevin Mort to make the score 2-0. Almonte gave up four hits and a walk in six innings while striking out four. However, the Gnats were held to two hits in Game 2 -- singles from right fielder Cory Vaughn and shortstop Wilfredo Tovar. The Gnats will send right-hander Erik Goeddel to the mound Monday at 7 p.m. in Hickory. Right-hander Carlos Melo starts for the Crawdads. Box 1, Box 2

Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Adam Rubin

Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.

Mark Simon

Mark Simon is ESPN Stats & Information's Baseball Research Specialist. One of several Mets historians working at ESPN, he joined the Worldwide Leader in 2002 after 6 1/2 years as a sports writer at the Trenton Times.